A Step Forward
by serafina19
Summary: "The world was ending, as it seemed to do all the time, and instead of rushing around in an attempt to save it, she was having fun... she was on a date.  Right?" Sequel to "The Night After."  Temil one-shot.


**A Step Forward**

Sitting at the bar, Tess uncrossed her legs, trying to seem relaxed as she peered over towards the guy sitting next to her. She almost couldn't believe it. The world was ending, as it seemed to do all the time, and instead of rushing around in an attempt to save it, she was having fun... she was on a date.

Right?

It felt like one, sitting on a bar stool, laughing with him about the crazy things they did, but it wasn't just friendly.

For one, he was drinking... well, he had a drink in front of him. Tess honestly couldn't remember if she had seen him consume any of his drink.

Then there was the fact that it was his idea to go out tonight. After seeing the tape, Tess would have been fine with driving back to the mansion and hiding under the covers for a solid eight hours out of pure embarrassment. But instead, Emil offered his hand and a smile, and she accepted it.

Finally, he had this tendency of grabbing her hand when guys walked around which, and this was the kicker, made Tess a little nervous.

It seemed silly, she had worked with Emil numerous times before, but there was something about crossing that line that brought something out of her. It made her almost not want to drink, terrified about the consequences.

She looked back up at him, noticing that he was looking back at her with concern. "You okay Tess?"

"Fine," she lied as she swirled her glass, "just a little apprehensive about alcohol considering what happened."

"I know what you mean." Emil chuckled as he stared at the contents of his glass. "Hence why I settled with a coke, but I can't even drink that." Placing the glass back on the counter, there seemed to be a thin veil of tension between them. He knew that they would have to talk about what happened at one point, but as Emil looked around, this wasn't the place.

They hardly fit into this scene, as early twenty-somethings ran all over the place, barely holding onto their liquor from the looks of it. Otherwise, there were the sports fans hollering at the other end of the bar. Sure, he had suggested that they do this, but it had been a while since Emil had 'gotten a drink' that he had forgotten the behavioural atmosphere of bars.

Swivelling around in his stool, he took a quick look outside before turning his head back towards to Tess. "Care to join me on a walk?"

She had been surprised by the invitation, but she was more than willing to leave this place behind. Nodding, she replied, "Lead the way."

Seeing the consequent smile that came across her face, Emil quickly hopped off his stool, holding out a hand to allow Tess to get off smoothly, and began to head towards the door, not even caring that neither had even touched their drinks. Fortunately, they had already paid, even though at the moment, they knew alcohol was the last thing they needed.

Emil pushed the door open, holding it until Tess had fully exited, before realizing that this should have been their plan all along. Despite the time of night, it was still nice outside, and plenty quieter than the scene inside. Within seconds, they found ease within their conversation again, but that stopped when Emil decided to sit down at a bench in one of the nearby parks.

Turning in her spot, Tess raised an eyebrow at him. "What are you doing?"

"Sit down and you'll see." She obliged him, taking the seat next to Emil and started counting the seconds of silence before he started talking again. "It's nice, isn't it? Just looking up and watching the world go by from time to time, not worrying about the next move."

Tess lightly scoffed. "I wouldn't know."

He acknowledged her comment by tilting his head. "Yeah, well... being a doctor has its perks in that you don't see the sunshine too often. There's always a new patient, or linked cases, or tests to run. Doesn't leave much time for reflection." Looking up, Emil smiled as he added, "It's why I come here, every now and then, to remind myself to take a step back."

Tess narrowed her eyes before turning towards Emil. "Is that some sort of clue?"

Sitting perfectly still, Emil fired back, "Should it be?"

Tess rolled her eyes as she looked skyward. "It is easy to lose sight of the ... other facets of life. Being adopted... I worked so hard, trying to prove to myself that I was worthy, that my biological parents made a mistake in giving me up."

_Of course that was before I found out I was a Luthor_, Tess mentally added. All this time, she wanted to find success in her life and she almost turned into one of them. It scared her to think how close to the edge she got, just because of an unrequited devotion.

Tess looked down, almost wishing she had that drink now. "Looking back, it seems like I made one bad decision after another."

"You don't give yourself enough credit Tess." Seeing her reaction, Emil could tell that she didn't believe him. "Sure, you may have made a couple of wrong turns, but you've always had the right intentions."

"Yeah, and look where it got me."

Placing his hand on her knee, watching as her eyes popped up to meet his, Emil calmly replied, "Doesn't look too bad from where I'm sitting."

Tess tried to subtly look between his hand and his eyes, while processing his comment. She wasn't sure what made Emil say that, especially because of how skeptical she felt about his words, but she wasn't about to take them for granted. So Tess settled herself down to stare back at Emil, and actually managed a smile before saying, "Thank you." About to say more, she heard Emil's phone vibrating, so she gestured for him to answer it. "Go ahead."

He got off the bench and answered, leaving Tess alone, yet she felt oddly satisfied in that moment. Even though it had started out awkwardly, Emil always had a way of making her relax, feel comfortable in her own skin even.

Seeing him shake his head as he hung up his phone, Tess heard him mutter, "So much for a night off," before turning back to her.

Standing up, Tess shrugged casually. "Don't worry about it, I've got some stuff to do anyway."

"Hold on a second." Reaching out, Emil grabbed Tess' hand before she could get away, causing her to turn her head back in surprise. "I had a really good time tonight."

"Me too."

"Well," he said, releasing her hand slowly, "Goodnight then."

Tess watched him take a couple steps before she turned her head back with a wide grin on her face. Sure, they hadn't actually talked about it, but tonight made it clear that neither person regretted their intoxicated decision of the night before. Maybe there was some hope for her after all.

_**~End~**_


End file.
